Rain Smith

An off-duty Sullivan County deputy was killed in a Saturday afternoon motorcycle wreck on State Route 126.

A report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol says Albert Lee Campbell, 28, of Kingsport, was riding a Suzuki motorcycle westbound on State Route 126 near Cassidy Drive. When a vehicle he was traveling behind stopped to make a left hand turn Campbell's motorcycle struck its left rear.

The report states visibility conditions from the setting sun could have been a factor in the collision, which threw Campbell into eastbound traffic.

Sullivan County Sheriff's Office Public information Officer Leslie Earhart says Campbell first came to the SCSO as a teenager through the Explorer program. He later served as a reserve officer before being hired as a full time employee in 2007.

"He never had a bad word to say," Earhart said of Campbell, adding that thoughts and prayers of the Sheriff's Office staff are going out to his family.

"He always had a smile on his face. He was just a really pleasant person to work with and he was good officer, because he was patient and compassionate."